By Jesse Speer

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My buddy Kevin recently offered to show me one of his favorite wildnerness destinations in Colorado. How could I resist? Kevin is a backpacking nut who craves the backcountry as much as I do. He spends much of his free time exploring the numerous wilderness areas of Colorado. We've shared many backpacking experiences in recent years and have encountered some of Colorado's finest wilderness scenery together. When he starts singing the praises of one particular spot, I listen. Tales of spectacular waterfalls, wildflowers and lakes in broad glacial valleys in the Holy Cross Wilderness often came up around the campfire during other trips that we shared. He claimed that the Tuhare Lakes and Fall Creek Pass area was one of the most scenic areas he'd ever seen in Colorado. So, when it came time to decide where we were headed during the last weekend in July, the destination was obvious. We would spend the weekend camping near the Tuhare Lakes area in the heart of the Holy Cross Wilderness.

We met early in the afternoon on Friday, July 28th, just south of Minturn and drove the eight miles of pot holes along the Tigiwon Road (#707). We started up the Fall Creek trail at 2:30pm on one of the warmest days I've ever encountered in Colorado. We were soaked with sweat within minutes after leaving the busy trailhead. The parking lot at the end of the road offers two trailheads – Fall Creek and Halfmooon. These trailheads are starting points for several popular routes, including the famous Mount of the Holy Cross (14,005 feet) and Notch Mountain hikes. It's not uncommon to see dozens of cars at the trailhead on any given summer weekend morning. Despite the heavy traffic, very few people seem to visit the Tuhare Lakes area — let alone know about the lakes. Knowing this fact made hiking a heavily used trail a bit easier. We played leap frog with another group of backpackers as we climbed towards Lake Constantine. We stopped only a couple of times during the 5+ mile hike to Tuhare gorge — once at the Notch Mountain turnoff and again to pump water above Lake Constantine. But most of the time we kept moving to avoid the onslaught of mosquitos.

When To Go

July to September

Trailhead

Travel west on I-70 to Exit 171 for Minturn and Hwy 24. Exit here and turn right onto Hwy 24. Proceed about 4 miles, passing through Minturn, to Tigiwon Road #707. Turn right onto Tigiwon Road and continue to the end — 8 miles of rough dirt road. Park at the end of the road. There are two trailheads at this parking lot. Use the Fall Creek trailhead.

Trail Info

Lower Tuhare lake: 5.0 miles one-way with 1580' elevation gain (2080' total gain, 500' loss). Lake Constantine: 4.0 miles and about 1000' elevation gain.
(Data comes from Topo software)

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Topo Map

Lake Constantine is a very worthwhile destination — especially for those who like to camp and/or fish. The lake sits in a sparsely forested part of the Fall Creek valley, just below treeline. In order to see the lake, you must leave the main trail. Therefore, only a brief glimpse of the lake was offered as we continued up the trail. Still, it seemed like a great spot to enjoy a night or two of camping ... and undoubtedly some quality fishing time. Beyond the lake, the trail changes character dramatically. A small arrow sign marks the route across the creek to Fall Creek Pass. We turn right here and follow an unmarked foot path towards the Tuhare lakes. The gradual ascent to Constantine is replaced with a steep climb beside waterfalls and over boulder fields. At some points in this short climb, hands and feet may be required just to stay upright. At this point, I began to tire of hauling my 55 lb. pack. Fortunatelyk, we were very close to some good camping. At 6pm, we finally reach a subalpine shelf just below the lower lake — an area highlighted by a loud waterfall that spills out of the lower lake. A short off-trail exploration revealed a perfect camp site in the tundra below the waterfall. We set up our tents, inhaled some dinner, tried to ignore the mosquitos (a strong mosiquito and fly repellent is a must for this area!) and explored the picturesque stream and waterfall before sunset. I could have packed up and walked home with satisfaction after seeing this waterfall — which instantly became one of my favorites in Colorado.

Our major goal for the weekend was photographing the area's unique water features and, hopefully, some nice wildflower displays. So what did we do the next morning? We slept in. Fortunately, sunrise was lackluster. For the rest of the day, we planned to hike and explore the rest of the Fall Creek valley. We packed our cameras, meals, and other gear and left camp at midmorning. From our campsite, we climbed directly up a short, steep granite slope to to Lower Tuhare Lake at 12,090 feet above sea level. From the southeast shore, we headed south towards the upper Fall Creek valley — finding an fairly easy route through the pile of granite using grassy tundra ledges. The entire valley was filled with inspiring granite formations and stair-stepped granite ledges. The geology of the place was almost as inspiring as the grand scenic views. After reaching a high point below the unnamed 13,000 foot peak that separates Fall Creek Pass from the Tuhare Lakes, we held elevation as we hike towards the pass. Not that it wasn't incredibly scenic already, but the grandeur of the scenery slaps you in the face at this point. The rugged Gore Range can be seen to the north and the towering crags of the Seven Sisters lakes area beyond the pass come into view. Alpine tarns dot the valley below. And we have to be careful not to constantly tramp wildflowers.

I could go on and on, but words fail to describe the beauty of this area. We reached Fall Creek Pass and found ourselves immersed in an alpine paradise. Striking views of rugged peaks. Numerous lakes and picturesque tarns. Fields of wildflowers. Wide, open tundra. One "wow!" after another was uttered as we continued to a viewpoint overlooking the Seven Sisters Lakes — which many consider to be the most beautiful in Colorado. It's a place that has the ability to inspire you to keep walking all day. The scenery sucks you in and makes you forget everything. We sat on a rock formation just below the pass and admired the panoramic views for awhile. It didn't take long to realize I would have to come back and spend more time in the area. There is so much to see. The photographic possibilities were nearly limitless. I snapped photo after photo, despite the harsh midday lighting. I didn't want to leave.

Still, we hadn't really spent any time at the Tuhare Lakes yet. We planned to end our day of hiking to the lakes — photographing more waterfalls and hopefully stumbling into more wildflower meadows. We followed the trail as we descended back towards camp — occasionally being drawn away by the picturesque tarns that reflected the high peaks. We eventually reached a pond just below Lower Tuhare Lake and bushwacked towards camp. After a little break at camp, we continued up the waterfall to the lake (scrambling directly beside the falls). Waterfalls are found below the lakes, in between the lakes ... and probably even spilling down the sides of the Tuhare Gorge for all we knew. There is no shortage of water in the area. As a result, some wonderful wildflower displays can be enjoyed around the lakes — if your eyes aren't glued to the waterfalls. We spent the next few hours wandering around the area, photographing the inspiring scenery. To top it all off, we didn't encounter another soul during our entire time spent in the Tuhare gorge — all weekend.

We ended our evening at the Tuhare Lakes. Kevin climbed to the upper lake while I lingered around the waterfalls between the lakes. I never did see the upper lake, which is significantly larger than the lower lake. Luckily, Kevin snapped some pics and I once again promised myself that I'd return to the area again soon. We cooked dinner next to one of the waterfalls and enjoyed the solitude. After an hour or so of laziness and more exploring, we returned to the falls below the first lake to photograph any sunset light that might materialize. It never did, but we didn't care. We had just enjoyed a glorious day of hiking in one of Colorado's most scenic locations. We retreated to camp in the dark and collapsed in near exhaustion. The heat, constant hiking and neverending mosquito barrage had sapped every ounce of energy we possessed. I slept soundly that night — a rarity for me in the backcountry.

The next morning, we slept in again. The skies were completely clear. Sunrise didn't seem to be that spectacular in the Tuhare Lakes gorge anyway. (Fall Creek Pass is another story.) Kevin was thinking of Taco Bell, work and a long shower. While I slowly emerged from my tent in a slumber, he took off to enjoy the rest of his day at home. I eventually packed up my gear, filtered some water for the hot hike back to the trailhead and began to hate mosquitos with a furious passion. I reluctantly left the Tuhare gorge and found myself back at my car after two hours of rapid hiking. I smelled like death. I was covered in bug bites. I was completely worn out. But It was all more than worthwhile. I had just spent a weekend experiencing some of the most beautiful wilderness scenery in Colorado. Thanks again, Kevin.

(The slide show contains 42 photos.)

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All photos © copyright Jesse Speer
Map courtesy of National Geographic Topo!

Contributed by Jesse Speer
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